I was so close to coming when I felt him stiffen beneath me, right before he erupted and a hot stream of thick semen entered my mouth. It wasn’t long before I was joining him, and even though I felt slightly embarrassed, I made sure to let him know that I enjoyed every single second of it. Naturally this led to an anal discussion, and while I might be open for that in the future, it’s not going to happen any time soon. Like I said, I trust Kale to take care of me in all ways, and I know he’d never cause me pain on purpose, but at the same time, that’s a step I’m not sure I’m ready for.

My stomach growls, and I chuckle to myself as I replay the last thought in my head. I roll so I’m flat on my back and place a hand over my belly. Okay, so maybe he’ll inadvertently cause me a little bit of pain, but I know that kind will be more than worth it in the end.

“Morning, baby,” a sleepy voice mumbles beside me.

I turn on my side and prop myself up on my elbow before I lean in and give him his greeting in the form of a kiss. Before I can say anything else, I hear a knock on my door, followed my Marisa’s voice. Looking over at Kale, I lift the sheet and see that he is still completely naked and his morning wood is in full effect. After quickly dropping the sheet and then pulling it up to his chin, I respond to her, telling her to come in. All the while, Kale’s chuckling beside me, but he doesn’t move.

Marisa peeks her head in and grins when she sees us in bed. “Morning, soon-to-be parents!” she teases, and I smile as I remember how just the night before she was bouncing off the walls with excitement at being an aunt. “Mom and Dad have to get going to the restaurant soon, but Mom wants to have breakfast as a family first before you head out. I’ve been tasked with getting you out of bed and into the kitchen in ten minutes.”

Ten minutes? No way is that long enough to get ready to go meet Kale’s mom and sisters. I jump up quickly, not realizing that I’m bringing the sheets with me until I’m tangled up in them and falling over backwards and then off the bed, landing with a hard thump on my ass beside the bed.

Before I can feel any sort of embarrassment, I’m being swooped into Kale’s arms and then settled into his lap. He’s sitting on the floor next to my bed, his hands roaming all over my body. I hear a small gasp and look up to see Mom in the doorway, Marisa trying to peek in around her. I try to shift in Kale’s arms, but he holds me still, like he doesn’t even notice anymore that we’re not alone, we’re both uncovered, and he’s currently naked with nothing covering him but my now sore ass.

His hand comes up to caress my face where he moves the bangs out of the way. “Baby, are you okay? Do you hurt anywhere? Do we need to get you checked out?” he asks, sounding almost panicked, and I’m taken aback.

“Kale, I’m fine. I promise. My ego and my ass might be a little bruised, but that’s it. I swear, I’ve become such a klutz since I met you,” I tease, trying to reassure him.

“I don’t know, Lucy. You fell pretty hard. You might be hurt or have aggravated something, or hell, I don’t know. I just would feel better if I knew you were absolutely fine,” he insists, his eyes pleading. He runs a hand through his hair, and I wonder what’s going through his mind. I know he has a protective streak, but this is something else, and I can’t quite put my finger on it.

“What happened?” Mom asks, interrupting us.

Kale’s head snaps up as if he’s just now realized she’s in the room with us. I grin as he slightly adjusts me, pulling the sheet up over my body, and I assume he’s finally aware that he’s in a room with me, my mom, and my teenage sister and neither of us has clothes on.

“I told Lucy she had ten minutes to get ready and she jumped up and got tangled in the sheets. Then she fell off the bed and onto the floor. That’s when I came to get you,” Marisa informs her, volunteering the information, and I sigh with relief, knowing she probably didn’t get an eyeful of Kale’s baby maker.

Mom’s face floods with worry, and I wish I could go to her, reassure her that I’m fine. However, that would mean leaving Kale’s lap and exposing him, and I’m not about to expose us as well. It was so cute the way he tried to follow Mom’s rules, and I don’t want her to know I made him break them. Or that he caved.

“I’m fine, Mom. I promise,” I tell her, my words echoing the ones I just said to Kale. “Like Riss said, I just got tripped up and I fell. I might be a little sore later on, but nothing hurts right now other than my pride. Now if you’ll shut the door, we can get ready and we’ll be out for breakfast in a few minutes, okay?”

For the first time, Mom gets a good look at Kale, and I groan inwardly, pretty sure she can put two and two together. Instead of earning a glare, she gives me a knowing smile and simply closes the door behind her, making sure that Marisa can’t see a thing.

I lean back against his chest. “This was an awful idea,” I groan. “She knows. She so knows we fooled around last night!”

He just shakes his head at me. He holds me tight while he uses all his strength to stand up, even with me still in his arms. “I’d say I told you so, but that’d be like admitting that I didn’t enjoy it. And baby, I enjoyed every damn second.”

I hold on as he deposits me on the bed with extreme care. Leaning down, he places both hands on the bed and comes in close, turning serious-faced again.

“Tell me the truth, Lucy. Does anything hurt?” His eyes are so soft, so earnest, and the intensity behind them unnerves me.

Studying his eyes, I can see something there, but I’m not sure what. I bring a hand up to caress his cheek, hoping my touch will reassure him. “I promise you. I’m fine. The baby’s fine. We’re all fine, Kale. But thank you so much for being worried. You’re going to be the best daddy.”

His eyes soften, and he moves to sit on the edge of the bed beside me. His elbows are on his knees as he runs his hands through his hair then over his face as if he’s trying to wipe away some emotion or thought. What it is, I have no idea, and it’s a side of him I’ve never seen before. My hand moves to his back then slides around his waist as I cuddle into him, hoping to help him relax, to know that I’m here, I’m fine.

He lets out a loud sigh and wraps an arm around me, pulling me in as close as possible. “I need to make sure that you and our little sprout are safe, protected, and healthy. From now until forever,” he promises, so quiet it’s almost a whisper.

My heart flutters at his words, at the implication of the word forever, and for once, hearing it from a man’s lips doesn’t have me running for the hills. I scoot closer to him and then move so I’m straddling his lap. Placing both hands on his cheeks, I force him to look at me.

“Kale Montgomery, I couldn’t feel safer with anyone, and there is no other man I could ever trust more to love, protect, and cherish my unborn child.” I take his hand and place it underneath the sheet, where it rests on my belly. “I know we haven’t had an in-depth serious conversation about where things are going to go, and we will after the holidays and the craziness of this weekend. But just know I’m glad it’s you here with me now. You once told me that we’re in this together, and it’s my turn to reassure you of the same thing. You and I are in this together, one hundred percent, and I should’ve told you that so much sooner. As partners, lovers, parents—whatever you want to label it, I couldn’t do this without you, and I wouldn’t want to. I want this. I want you. I want our baby. You, me, and Sprout? It’s the three of us now, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Kale’s fingers caress my stomach and his eyes watch his hand move, almost as if he’s trying as hard as he can to develop some sort of x-ray vision so he can get a glimpse of Sprout. His eyes come up to meet mine, and my heart swells when I see them glistening.

“I know just two weeks ago I said I wasn’t in love you, but God dammit, Lucy, I’m really starting to fall. Hard. Hard as hell,” he whispers, his eyes shooting back and forth between mine.

My heart starts racing at his words, and I remember the night I so lamely told him that I wasn’t in love with him and he reciprocated the words. All of a sudden, I know I feel the same way, and reminiscent of that night, I return them.

“A year and a half ago? Two weeks ago? I don’t really care about the timeline anymore, because with us, it’s never been about that. I’m falling, too, Kale. Hard as hell,” I admit, echoing his words.

A huge grin spreads over his face, and before I know it, I’m rolled onto my back and he’s hovering over me. “Promise?” he asks, his eyes boring into mine.

I match his grin and hold up my hands in the same sign I’ve seen him do so many times. “I promise. Scout’s honor.”

Shaking his head, he leans down for a kiss and then pushes off me. “All right, babe. As much as I’d love to continue this conversation, I’m already afraid I’m in the dog house with your mom. Let’s get decent and have some breakfast. Then we can get ready to head to my mom’s. Sound good?”

“That sounds perfect.”


AFTER EATING a perfect Southern breakfast and gorging myself with Mom’s famous biscuits and gravy, we finally got ready to leave for Gulf Shores. Of course, Mom and Marisa both asked me about a dozen times each if I was okay, to which I assured them I was. They didn’t quit harping until Kale stepped in and reassured them by letting them know that he’d watch me like a hawk to make sure I was taking it easy. Even though it was super sweet, I had to roll my eyes at him, but he just gave me a knowing smile back.

As we were saying our goodbyes, Mom gave me a hug and whispered in my ear, “That boy’s a keeper, Lucy Beth,” and all I could do was nod, knowing she was right.